DP Vijaykumar, a school dropout who did odd jobs including loading vehicles to working as a farm help, took to cricket relatively late but his pace caught the eye from the start. He developed under the guidance of former India bowler Syed Abid Ali, and made his Ranji Trophy debut for Andhra in the 2006-07 season. In 11 matches in his first two seasons, he took 34 wickets at 22.88; this included a ten-wicket haul against Bengal at Eden Gardens in December 2007. He was signed by Hyderabad's Deccan Chargers for the first season of the IPL.Cricinfo staff May 2008